A^.    CHARLES  Dickens's 


©HBIiTMAS   €AK0JL, 


BOSTON : 
LEK   &;    SHKP^KD,    Fxxblishers. 

1876. 


■^ 


aOO<>X^3jaQ(!K3)CO»(!TO^COOO(XlC>aaQCT^ 


'■>'''  A  CoUecHon  of  COMEDIES,  DRAMAS,  and  FARCES,  adapted  to  eUher  Public 
or  Private  Performance.     Containing  a  full  description  of  all 
the  necessary  Stage  Business. 


SPENCER'S  UNIVERSAL  STAGE. 


i®©#«;^ 


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z 


11. 


PBICE,   15  CENTS  EACB.    ^S^  No  Plays  exehanffed. 


Three  Acts.    6  Mhle,  4  Female  char-J 
acters. 
Nicholas  Flam.  A  Comedy  in  Two 
Acts.    By  J.B.  Buckstone.    5  Male, 
3  Female  characters. 

The  Welsh  Girl.  A  Comedy  in 
One  Act.  By  Mrs.  Planche,  3  Male, 
2  Female  characters. 

John  Wopps.  A  Farce  in  One  Act. 
By  W.  E.  Suter.  4  Male,  2  fVmale 
characters. 

The  Turkish  Bath.  A  Farce  in 
One  Act.  By  Montague  Williams 
and  F.  C.  Burnand,  6  Male,  1  Fe- 
male character. 

The  Two  Puddlfoots.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  J.  M.  Morton.  3 
Male,  3  Female  characters. 

Old  If onesty.  A  Comic  Drama  in 
Two  Acts.  By  J.  M.  Morton.  5 
Male,  2  Female  characters. 

T^vo  Gentlemen  in  a  Fix.  A 
Farce  in  One  Act.    By  W.  E.  Suter. 

2  Male  cliaracters. 
Smashlngton  Goit.    A  Farce  in 

One  Act.  By  T..I.  Williame.  5  Male, 

3  Female  characters. 

Tvro  Heads  Better  thanOne.  A 
Farce  in  One  Act.   By  I.enox  Home. 

4  Male,  1  Female  character. 
John  Bobbs.    A  Farce  in  One  Act. 

By  J.  M.  Morton.  5  Male,  2  Female 
characters. 

The  Bawghter  of  the  Regi- 
ment. A  Drama  in  Two  Acts.  By 
Edward  Fitzball.  0  Male,  2  Female 
characters. 

Annt  Charlotte's  9Iaid.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  J.  M.  Morton.  3 
Male,  3  Female  characters. 

Brother  Bill  and  ^Te.  A  Farce  in 
One  Act.  By  W.  E.  Suter.  4  Male, 
3  Female  characters. 

Bone  on  Both  Sides.  A  Farce  in 
Ou'  Act.  By  J.  M.  Morton.  3 
Male,  2  Female  characters. 


) 


T>nndwcl£etty'8  Picnic.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  T.  J.  Williams.  6 
Male,  3  Female  characters. 

I've  "ivritten  to  Browne.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  T.  .1.  Williams.  4 
Male,  3  Female  characters. 


^.ending  a  nand.    A  Farce  in  One 
Act.      By  G.  A.  A'Becket.      3  Male, 

2  Female  characters. 

19.  My  Precious  Betsy.    A  Farce  in 

One  Act  By  J.  M.  Morton.  4  Male, 
4  Femuli  characters. 

20.  MyTwrn]Vext.  A  Farce  in  One  Act. 

By  T.  J.  Williams.  4  Male,  3  Fe- 
male clia.f.  -ters. 

21.  Wine  Poin<  «  ol  the  I^aw.  A  Com- 

edy in  One  Act.  By  Tom  Taylor. 
4  Male,  ;^  Female  characters. 

22.  The    Phantom    Breakfast.     A 

Farce  in  One  Act.  By  Charles  Sel- 
by.    3  Male,  2  Female  characters. 

23.  Bandelions  Bodges.    A  Farce  in 

One  Act.  By  T.  J.  Williams.  4 
Male,  2  K'emale  characters. 

24.  A  Slice  ot  L,uck.      A  Farce  in  One 

Act.     £y  J.  M.  Morton.    4  Male,  2 
Female  characters. 
26.  Al^vays  Intended.    A  Comedy  in 
One  Act.     By  Hq«ce  Wigan.     3 
Male,  3  Female  chaWcters. 

26.  A  Bull  In  a  China  Shop.  A  Com- 

edy in  Two  Acts.  By  Charles  Mat- 
thews. 6  Male,  4  Female  characters. 

27.  Another  Glass.    A  Drama  iu  One 

Act.    By  Thomas  Mqrton.    6  Male, 

3  Female  characters. 

28.  Bowled  Out,    A  Farce  in  One  Act. 

By  H.  T.Craven.  4  Male,  3  Female 
characters. 

29.  Cousin  Tom.    A  Commedietta  in 

One  Act.  By  George  Roberts.  3 
Male,  2  Female  diaracters. 

30.  Sarali's  lioung  Man.    A  Farce  in 

One  Act.  By  W.  E,  Suter.  3  Male, 
3  Female  characters. 

31.  Hit  Him,  He  has  IVo  Friends. 

A  Farce  in  One  Act.  By  E.  Yates 
and  N.  H.  Harrington.  7  Male,  3 
Female  characters. 

3?-  The  Christening.  A  Farce  in  One 
ict.  By  J.  B.  Buckstone.  5  Male, 
b  Female  characters. 

3o.  A  Bace  lor  a  Widow.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  Thomas  J.  Wil- 
liams. 5  JIale,  4  Female  character.^. 
Tour  liife's  In  Banger.  A  Farce 
in  One  Act.  By  J.  M.  Morton.  3 
Male,  3  Female  characters. 
True  unto  Beath.  A  Drama  in 
Two  Acts.  By  J.  Sheridan  Knowlcs. 
C  Male,  2  Female  rharacters.  j; 


3^ 


3r, 


! 


UCSB  LIBRARf 


CHRISTMAS    CAROL. 


CHARLES    DICKENS. 

AS    CONDENSED    BY    HIMSELF,     l-OR    HIS 

READINGS. 


BOSTON: 
LEE    AND     SHEPARD. 

NEW   YORK:     ^ 
CHARLES   T.   DILLINGHAM. 
1877. 


Gad's  Hill,  Hicham  by  Rochester,  Kbnt 
Tenth  October,  1867. 

The  edition  bearing  the  imprint   of  Messrs.  Ticknor   and  Fields  ii 
the  only  ccrrect  and  authorized  edition  of  my  Readings. 

CHARLES    DICKENS. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

TICKNOR     AND     FIELDS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Coiut  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


UmvKKsiTY  Press:  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Ca, 
Cambridge. 


A   CHRISTMAS    CAROL. 

IN  FOUR  STAVES. 


STAVE    ONE. 

marlet's  ghost. 

MARLEY  was  dead,  to  begin  with.  There  is 
no  doubt  whatever  about  that.  The  regis- 
ter of  his  burial  was  signed  by  the  clergyman, 
the  clerk,  the  undertaker,  and  the  chief  mourner. 
Scrooge  signed  it.  And  Scrooge's  name  was  good 
upon  'Change  for  anything  he  chose  to  put  his 
hand  to. 

Old  Marley  was  as  dead  as  a  door-nail. 

Scrooge  knew  he  was  dead  ?  Of  course  he  did. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  Scrooge  and  he 
were  partners  for  I  don't  know  how  many  years. 
Scrooge  was  his  sole  executor,  his  sole  adminis- 
trator, his  sole  assign,  his  sole  residuary  legatee, 
his  sole  friend,  his  sole  mourner. 

Scrooge  never  painted  out  old  Marley's  name, 
however.  There  it  yet  stood,  years  afterwards, 
above  the  warehouse  door,  —  Scrooge  and  Marley. 
The  firm  was  known  as  Scrooge  and  Marley. 
Sometimes    people    new    to    the    business    called 


4  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

Scrooge  Scrooge,  and  sometimes  Marley.  He 
answered  to  both  names.  It  was  all  the  same  to 
him. 

Oh !  But  he  was  a  tight-fisted  hand  at  the 
grindstone,  was  Scrooge  !  a  squeezing,  wrenching, 
grasping,  scraping,  clutching,  covetous  old  sin- 
ner !  External  heat  and  cold  had  little  influence  on 
him.  No  warmth  could  warm,  no  cold  could  chill 
him.  No  wind  that  blew  was  bitterer  than  he, 
no  falling  snow  was  more  intent  upon  its  pur- 
pose, no  pelting  rain  less  open  to  entreaty.  Foul 
weather  did  n't  know  where  to  have  him.  The 
heaviest  rain  and  snow  and  hail  and  sleet  could 
boast  of  the  advantage  over  him  in  only  one  re- 
spect, —  they  often  "  came  down  "  handsomely, 
and  Scrooge  never  did. 

Nobody  ever  stopped  him  in  the  street  to  say, 
with  gladsome  looks,  "  My  dear  Scrooge,  how 
are  you  ?  When  will  you  come  to  see  me  ? " 
No  beggars  implored  him  to  bestow  a  trifle,  no 
children  asked  him  what  it  was  o'clock,  no  man  or 
woman  ever  once  in  all  his  life  inquired  the  way 
to  such  and  such  a  place,  of  Scrooge.  Even  the 
blindmen's  dogs  appeared  to  know  him  ;  and  when 
they  saw  him  coming  on,  would  tug  their  owners 
into  doorways  and  up  courts  ;  and  then  would 
wag  their  tails  as  though  they  said,  "  No  eye  at  all 
is  better  than  an  evil  eye,  dark  master ! " 

But  what  did  Scrooge  care !  It  was  the  very 
thing    he    liked.      To    edge    his    way   along    the 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  5 

crowded  paths  of  life,  warning  all  human  sym- 
pathy to  keep  its  distance,  was  what  the  knowing 
ones  call  "  nuts  "  to  Scrooge. 

Once  upon  a  time  —  of  all  the  good  days  in  the 
year,  upon  a  Christmas  eve  —  old  Scrooge  sat 
busy  in  his  counting-house.  It  was  cold,  bleak, 
biting,  foggy  weather  ;  and  the  city  clocks  had 
only  just  gone  three,  but  it  was  quite  dark  al- 
ready. 

The  door  of  Scrooge's  counting-house  was  open, 
that  he  might  keep  his  eye  upon  his  clerk,  who, 
in  a  dismal  little  cell  beyond,  a  sort  of  tank,  was 
copying  letters.  Scrooge  had  a  very  small  fire,  but 
the  clerk's  fire  was  so  very  much  smaller  that  it 
looked  like  one  coal.  But  he  could  n't  replenish 
it,  for  Scrooge  kept  the  coal-box  in  his  own  room  ; 
and  so  surely  as  the  clerk  came  in  with  the  shovel 
the  master  predicted  that  it  would  be  necessary 
for  them  to  part.  Wherefore  the  clerk  put  on 
his  white  comforter,  and  tried  to  warm  himself  at 
the  candle  ;  in  which  effort,  not  being  a  man  of  a 
strong  imagination,  he  failed. 

"  A  merry  Christmas,  uncle  !  God  save  you  !  " 
cried  a  cheerful  voice.  It  was  the  voice  of 
Scrooge's  nephew,  who  came  upon  him  so  quickly 
that  this  was  the  first  intimation  Scrooge  had  of 
his  approach. 

"  Bah ! "  said  Scrooge  ;  "  humbug !  " 

"  Christmas  a  humbug,  uncle !  You  don't  mean 
that,  I  am  sure  ?  " 


6  A  CHRISTMAS  CABOL. 

"  I  do.  Out  upon  merry  Christmas  I  What 's 
Christmas  time  to  you  but  a  time  for  paying  bills 
without  monej' ;  a  time  for  finding  yourself  a  year 
older,  and  not  an  hour  richer  ;  a  time  for  balancing 
your  books  and  having  every  item  in  'em  through 
a  round  dozen  of  months  presented  dead  against 
you  ?  If  I  had  my  will,  every  idiot  who  goes 
about  with  '  Merry.  Christmas  '  on  his  lips  should 
be  boiled  with  his  own  pudding,  and  buried  with  a 
stake  of  holly  ^rough  his  heart.     He  should ! " 

"  Uncle !  " 

"  Nephew,  keep  Christmas  in  your  own  way, 
and  let  me  keep  it  in  mine." 

"Keep  it!     But  you  don't  keep  it." 

"Let  me  leave  it  alone,  then.  Much  good  may 
it  do  you  !     Much  good  it  has  ever  done  you !  " 

"  There  are  many  things  from  which  I  might 
have  derived  good,  by  which  I  have  not  profited, 
I  dare  say,  Christmas  among  the  rest.  But  I  am 
sure  I  have  always  thought  of  Christmas  time, 
■when  it  has  come  round, — apart  from  the  venera- 
tion due  to  its  sacred  origin,  if  anything  belonging 
to  it  can  be  apart  from  that,  —  as  a  good  time  ;  a 
kind,  forgiving,  charitable,  pleasant  time  ;  the 
only  time  I  kno'w'  of,  in  the  long  calendar  of  the 
year,  when  men  and  women  seem  by  one  consent 
to  open  their  shut-up  hearts  freely,  and  to  think 
of  people  below  them  as  if  they  really  were  fellow- 
travellers  to  the  grave,  and  not  another  race  of 
creatures  bound  on  other  journeys.      And  there- 


A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  I 

fore,  uncle,  though  it  has  never  put  a  scrap  of  gold 
or  silver  in  my  pocket,  I  believe  that  it  /low  done 
me  good,  and  will  do  me  good ;  and  I  say,  God 
bless  it!" 

The  clerk  in  the  tank  involuntarily  applauded. 

"Let  me  hear  another  sound  from  you,"  said 
Scrooge,  "  and  you  '11  keep  your  Christmas  by 
losing  your  situation  !  You  're  quite  a  powerful 
speaker,  sir,"  he  added,  turning  to  his  nephew. 
"  I  wonder  you  don't  go  into  Parliament." 

"  Don't  be  angry,  uncle.  Come  !  Dine  with  us 
to-morrow." 

Scrooge  said  that  he  would  see  him — yes,  in- 
deed he  did.  He  went  the  whole  length  of  the 
expression,  and  said  that  he  would  see  him  in 
that  extremity  first. 

"  But  why  ?  "  cried  Scrooge's  nephew.    "  Why  ?  " 

"  Why  did  you  get  married  ?  " 

"  Because  I  fell  in  love." 

"  Because  you  fell  in  love !  "  growled  Scrooge, 
as  if  that  were  the  only  one  thing  in  the  world 
mqre  ridiculous  than  a  merry  Christmas.  "  Good 
afternoon !  " 

"  Nay,  uncle,  but  you  never  came  to  see  me  be- 
fore that  happened.  Why  give  it  as  a  reason  for 
not  coming  now  ?  " 

"  Good  afternoon  " 

"  I  want  nothing  from  you ;  I  ask  nothing  of 
you  ;  why  cannot  we  be  friends  ?  " 

"  Good  afternoon," 


8  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"  I  am  Borry,  with  all  my  heart,  to  find  you  so 
resolute.  We  have  never  had  any  quarrel,  to 
which  I  have  been  a  party.  But  I  have  made  the 
trial  in  homage  to  Christmas,  and  I  '11  keep  my 
Christmas  humor  to  the  last.  So  A  Merry  Christ- 
mas, uncle!" 

"  Good  afternoon  ! " 

"  And  A  Happy  New- Year  !  " 

"  Good  afternoon  !  " 

nis  nephew  left  the  room  without  an  an- 
gry word,  notwithstanding.  The  clerk,  in  letting 
Scrooge's  nephew  out,  had  let  two  other  people  in. 
They  were  portly  gentlemen,  pleasant  to  behold, 
and  now  stood,  with  their  hats  off,  in  Scrooge's 
oflSce.  They  had  books  and  papers  in  their  hands, 
and  bowed  to  him. 

"  Scrooge  and  Marley's,  I  believe,"  said  one 
of  the  gentlemen,  referring  to  his  list.  "  Have  I 
the  pleasure  of  addressing  Mr.  Scrooge,  or  Mr. 
Marley?" 

"  Mr.  Marley  has  been  dead  these  seven  years. 
He  died  seven  years  ago,  this  very  night." 

"  At  this  festive  season  of  theyear,  Mr.  Scrooge," 
said  the  gentleman,  taking  up  a  pen,  "  it  is  more 
than  usually  desirable  that  we  should  make  some 
slight  provision  for  the  poor  and  destitute,  who 
suffer  greatly  at  the  present  time.  Many  thousands 
are  in  want  of  common  necessaries  ;  hundreds  of 
thousands  are  in  want  of  common  comforts,  sir." 

"  Arc  there  no  prisons  ?  " 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  9 

"  Plenty  of  prisons.  But  under  the  impression 
that  they  scarcely  furnish  Christian  cheer  of  mind 
or  body  to  the  unoffending  multitude,  a  few  of  us 
are  endeavoring  to  raise  a  fund  to  buy  the  poor 
some  meat  and  drink,  and  means  of  warmth.  We 
choose  this  time,  because  it  is  a  time,  of  all  others, 
when  Want  is  keenly  felt,  and  Abundance  rejoices 
What  shall  I  put  you  down  for  ?  " 

"  Nothing  !  " 

"  You  wish  to  be  anonymous  ?  " 

'*  I  wish  to  be  left  alone.  Since  you  ask  me 
what  I  wish,  gentlemen,  that  is  my  answer.  I  don't 
make  merry  myself  at  Christmas,  and  I  can't  afford 
to  make  idle  people  merry.  I  help  to  support  the 
prisons  and  the  workhouses, — they  cost  enough, 
—  and  those  who  are  badly  off  must  go  there." 

"  Many  can't  go  there  ;  and  many  would  rather 
die." 

"If  they  would  rather  die,  they  had  better  do  it. 
and  decrease  the  surplus  population." 

At  length  the  hour  of  shutting. up  the  counting 
house  arrived.  With  an  ill-will  Scrooge,  dismount- 
ing from  his  stool,  tacitly  admitted  the  fact  to  the 
expectant  clerk  in  the  Tank,  who  instantly  snuffed 
his  candle  out,  and  put  on  his  hat. 

"  You  '11  want  all  day  to-morrow,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  If  quite  convenient,  sir." 

"  It 's  not  convenient,    and  it 's  not  fair.      If  1 
was  to  stop  half  a  crown  for  it,  you  'd  think  yourself 
mightily  ill-used,  I  '11  be  bound  ?  " 
1* 


10  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  And  yet  you  don't  think  me  ill-used,  when  I 
pay  a  day's  wages  for  no  work." 

"  It's  only  once  a  year,  sir." 

"  A  poor  excuse  for  picking  a  man's  pocket 
every  twenty-fifth  of  December  !  But  I  suppose 
you  must  have  the  whole  day.  Be  here  all  the 
earlier  next  morning." 

The  clerk  promised  that  he  would  ;  and  Scrooge 
walked  out  with  a  growl.  The  office  was  closed  in 
a  twinkling,  and  the  clerk,  with  the  long  ends  of 
his  white  comforter  dangling  below  his  waist  (for 
he  boasted  no  great-coat),  went  down  a  slide,  at 
the  end  of  a  lane  of  boys,  twenty  times,  in  honor 
of  its  being  Christmas  eve,  and  then  ran  home  as 
hard  as  he  could  pelt,  to  play  at  blindman's-buff. 

Scrooge  took  his  melancholy  dinner  in  his  usual 
melancholy  tavern  ;  and  having  read  all  the  news- 
papers, and  beguiled  the  rest  of  the  evening  with 
his  banker's  book,  went  home  to  bed.  He  lived  in 
chambers  which  had  once  belonged  to  his  deceased 
partner.  They  were  a  gloomy  suite  of  rooms,  in  a 
lowering  pile  of  building  up  a  yard.  The  building 
was  old  enough  now,  and  dreary  enough  ;  for  no- 
body lived  in  it  but  Scrooge,  the  other  rooms  being 
all  let  out  as  offices. 

Now  it  is  a  fact,  that  there  was  nothing  at  all 
particular  about  the  knocker  on  the  door  of  this 
house,  except  that  it  was  very  large  ;  also,  that 
Scrooge  had  seen  it,  night  and  morning,  during  his 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  11 

•whole  residonce  in  that  place  ;  also,  that  Scrooge 
had  as  little  of  what  is  called  fancy  about  him  as 
any  man  in  the  city  of  London.  And  yet  Scrooge, 
having  his  key  in  the  lock  of  the  door,  saw  in  the 
knocker,  without  its  undergoing  any  intermedi- 
ate process  of  change,  not  a  knocker,  but  Marley's 
face. 

Marley's  face,  with  a  dismal  light  about  it,  like 
a  bad  lobster  in  a  dark  cellar.  It  was  not  angry  or 
ferocious,  but  it  looked  at  Scrooge  as  Marley  used 
to  look,  —  with  ghostly  spectacles  turned  up  upon 
its  ghostly  forehead. 

As  Scrooge  looked  fixedly  at  this  phenomenon, 
it  was  a  knocker  again.  He  said,  "  Pooh,  pooh  I  " 
and  closed  the  door  with  a  bang. 

The  sound  resounded  through  the  house  like 
thunder.  Every  room  above,  and  every  cask  in 
the  wine-merchant's  cellars  below,  appeared  to 
have  a  separate  peal  of  echoes  of  its  own.  Scrooge 
was  not  a  man  to  be  frightened  by  echoes.  He 
fastened  the  doOr,  and  walked  across  the  hall,  and 
up  the  stairs.  Slowly  too,  trimming  his  candle  as 
he  went. 

Up  Scrooge  went,  not  caring  a  button  for  its 
being  very  dark.  Darkness  is  cheap,  and  Scrooge 
liked  it.  But  before  he  ahut  his  heavy  door,  he 
walked  through  his  rooms  to  see  that  all  was  right. 
He  had  just  enough  recollection  of  the  face  to  de- 
sire to  do  that. 

Sitting-room,  bedroom,  lumber-room,  all  as  they 


12  A  CHBISTMAS   CAROL. 

should  be.  Nobody  under  the  table,  nobody  un- 
der the  sofa ;  a  small  fire  in  the  grate ;  spoon 
and  basin  ready  ;  and  the  little  saucepan  of  gruel 
(Scrooge  had  a  cold  in  his  head)  upon  the  hob. 
Nobody  under  the  bed  ;  nobody  in  the  closet  ;  no- 
body in  his  dressing-gown,  which  was  hanging  up 
in  a  suspicious  attitude  against  the  wall.  Lum- 
ber-room as  usual.  Old  fire-guard,  old  shoes,  two 
fish-baskets,  washing-stand  on  three  legs,  and  a 
poker. 

Quite  satisfied,  he  closed  his  door,  and  locked 
himself  in  ;  double-locked  himself  in,  which  was  not 
his  custom.  Thus  secured  against  surprise,  he 
took  ofi"  his  cravat,  put  on  his  dressing-gown  and 
slippers  and  his  nightcap,  and  sat  down  before  the 
very  low  fire  to  take  his  gruel. 

As  he  threw  his  head  back  in  the  chair,  his 
glance  happened  to  rest  upon  a  bell,  a  disused  bell, 
that  hung  in  the  room,  and  communicated,  for  some 
purpose  now  forgotten,  with  a  chamber  in  the 
highest  story  of  the  building.  It*  was  with  great 
astonishment,  and  with  a  strange,  inexplicable 
dread,  that,  as  he  looked,  he  saw  this  bell  begin  to 
swing.  Soon  it  rang  out  loudly,  and  so  did  every 
bell  in  the  house. 

This  was  succeeded  by  a  clanking  noise,  deep 
down  below,  as  if  some  person  were  dragging  a 
heavy  chain  over  the  casks  in  the  wine-merchant's 
cellar. 

Then  he  heard  the  noise  much  louder,   on  the 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  13 

floors  below  ;  then  coming  up  the  stairs  ;  then 
coming  straight  towards  his  door. 

It  came  on  through  the  heavy  door,  and  a  spectre 
passed  into  the  room  before  his  eyes.  And  upon 
its  coming  in,  the  dying  flame  leaped  up,  as  though 
it  ci'ied,  "  I  know  him!     Marley's  ghost !  " 

The  same  face,  the  very  same.  Marley  in  his 
pigtail,  ufenal  waistcoat,  tights,  and  boots.  His 
body  was  transparent ;  so  that  Scrooge,  observing 
him,  and  looking  through  his  waistcoat,  could  see 
the  two  buttons  on  his  coat  behind, 

Scrooge  had  often  heard  it  said  that  Marley  had 
no  bowels,  but  he  had  never  believed  it  until  now. 

No,  nor  did  he  believe  it  even  now.  Though  he 
looked  the  phantom  through  and  through,  and  saw 
it  standing  before  him,^  though  he  felt  the  chilling 
influence  of  its  death-cold  eyes,  and  noticed  tlie 
very  texture  of  the  folded  kerchief  bound  about  its 
head  and  chin,  —  he  was  still  incredulous. 

"  How  now  ! "  said  Scrooge,  caustic  and  cold  aa 
ever.     "  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  " 

"  Much  !  "  —  Marley's  voice,  no  doubt  about  it 

"  Who  are  you  ?  " 

"  Ask  me  who  I  was.'^ 

"  Who  were  you  then  ?  " 

"  In  life  I  was  your  partner,  Jacob  Marley." 

"  Can  you  —  can  you  sit  down  ?  " 

"I  can." 

"  Do  it,  then." 

Scrooge  asked  the  question,  because  he  didn't 


14  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

know  whether  a  ghost  so  transparent  might  find 
himself  in  a  condition  to  take  a  chair  ;  and  felt  that, 
in  the  event  of  its  being  impossible,  it  might  in- 
volve the  necessity  of  an  embarrassing  explanation. 
But  the  ghost  sat  down  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
fireplace,  as  if  he  were  quite  used  to  it. 

"  You  don't  believe  in  me." 

"I  don't." 

"  What  evidence  would  you  have  of  my  reality 
beyond  that  of  your  senses  ?  " 

'.'  I  don't  know." 

"  Why  do  you  doubt  your  senses  ?  " 

"  Because  a  little  thing  affects  them.  A  slight 
disorder  of  the  stomach  makes  them  cheats.  You 
may  be  an  undigested  bit  of  beef,  a  blot  of  mus- 
tard, a  crumb  of  cheese,  a  fragment  of  an  under- 
done potato.  There  's  more  of  gravy  than  of  grave 
about  you,  whatever  you  are  !  " 

Scrooge  was  not  much  in  the  habit  of  cracking 
jokes,  nor  did  he  feel  in  his  heart  by  any  means  wag- 
gish then.  The  truth  is,  that  he  tried  to  be  smart,  as 
a  means  of  distracting  his  own  attention,  and  keep- 
ing down  his  horror. 

But  how  much  greater  was  his  horror  when,  the 
phantom  taking  off  the  bandage  round  its  head,  as 
if  it  were  too  warm  to  wear  in-doors,  its  lower  jaw 
dropped  down  upon  its  breast ! 

"  Mercy !  Dreadful  apparition,  why  do  you 
trouble  me  ?  Whj  do  spirits  walk  the  earth,  and 
why  do  they  come  to  me  ?  " 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  15 

"  It  is  required  of  every  man,  that  the  spirit 
within  him  should  walk  abroad  among  his  fellow- 
men,  and  travel  far  and  wide  ;  and  if  that  spirit 
goes  not  forth  in  life,  it  is  condemned  to  do  so  after 
death.  I  cannot  tell  you  all  I  would.  A  very  little 
more  is  permitted  to  me.  I  cannot  rest,  I  cannot 
B^ay,  I  cannot  linger  anywhere.  My  spirit  never 
walked  beyond  our  counting-house  —  mark  me  !  — 
in  life  my  spirit  never  roved  beyond  the  narrow 
limits  of  our  money-changing  hole  ;  and  weary  jour- 
neys lie  before  me  !  " 

"  Seven  years  dead.  And  travelling  all  the 
time  ?     You  travel  fast  ?  " 

"  On  the  wings  of  the  wind." 

"  You  might  have  got  over  a  great  quantity  of 
ground  in  seven  years." 

"  0  blind  man,  blind  man!  not  to  know  that  ages 
of  incessant  labor  by  immortal  creatures  for  this 
earth  must  pass  into  eternity  before  the  good  of 
which  it  is  susceptible  is  all  developed.  Not  to 
know  that  any  Christian  spirit  working  kindly  in 
its  little  sphere,  whatever  it  may  be,  will  find  its 
mortal  life  too  short  for  its  vast  means  of  useful- 
ness. Not  to  know  that  no  space  of  regret  can 
make  amends  for  one  life's  opportunities  misused  ! 
Yet  I  was  like  this  man  ;  I  once  was  like  this 
man!  " 

"  But  you  were  always  a  good  man  of  business, 
Jacob,"  faltered  Scrooge,  who  now  began  to  apply 
this  to  himself. 


16  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"Business!"  cried  the  Ghost,  wringing  its 
hands  again.  "  Mankind  was  my  business.  The 
common  welfare  was  my  business  ;  charity,  mercy, 
forbearance,  benevolence,  were  all  my  business. 
The  dealings  of  my  trade  were  but  a  drop  of 
water  in  the  comprehensive  ocean  of  my  busi- 
ness !"  •  ^ 

Scrooge  was  very  much  dismayed  to  hear  the 
spectre  going  on  at  this  rate,  and  began  to  quake 
exceedingly. 

"  Hear  me  !     My  time  is  nearly  gone." 

"  I  will.  But  don't  be  hard  upon  me  !  Don't 
be  flowery,  Jacob  !  .  Pray  !  " 

"  I  am  here  to-night  to  warn  you  that  you  have 
yet  a  chance  and  hope  of  escaping  my  fate.  A 
chance  and  hope  of  my  procuring,  Ebenezer." 

"  You  were  always  a  good  friend  to  me. 
Thank'ee  !  " 

"  You  will  be  haunted  by  Three  Spirits." 

"  Is  that  the  chance  and  hope  you  mentioned, 
Jacob  ?     I  —  I  think  I  'd  rather  not." 

"  Without  their  visits,  you  cannot  hope  to  shun 
the  path  I  tread.  Expect  the  first  to-morrow  night, 
when  the  bell  tolls  One.  Expect  the  second  on 
the  next  night  at  the  same  hour.  The  third,  upon 
the  next  night,  when  the  last  stroke  of  Twelve  has 
ceased  to  vibrate.  Look  to  see  me  no  more  ;  and 
look  that,  for  your  own  sake,  you  remember  what 
has  passed  between  us  !." 

It   walked   backward   from    him ;  and  at  every 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  17 

step  it  took,  the  window  raised  itself  a  little,  so 
that,  when  the  apparition  reached  it,  it  was  wide 
open, 

Scrooge  closed  the  window,  and  examined  the 
door  by  which  the  Ghost  had  entered.  It  was 
double-locked,  as  he  had  locked  it  with  his  own 
hands,  and  the  bolts  were  undisturbed.  Scrooge 
tried  to  say,  "  Humbug !  "  but  stopped  at  the  first 
syllable.  And  being,  from  the  emotion  he  had 
undergone,  or  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  or  his 
glimpse  of  the  invisible  world,  or  the  dull  con« 
versation  of  the  Ghost,  or  the  lateness  of  the  hour, 
much  in  need  of  repose,  he  went  straight  to  bed, 
without  undressing,  and  fell  asleep  on  the  instant. 


18  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

STAVE    TWO. 

THE   FIRST    OF   THE   THREE    SPIRITS. 


w 


HEN  Scrooge  awoke,  it  was  so  dark,  that, 
looking  out  of  bed,  he  could  scarcely  dis- 
tinguish the  transparent  window  from  the  opaque 
walls  of  his  chamber,  until  suddenly  the  church 
clock  tolled  a  deep,  dull,  hollow,  melancholy  ONE. 
Light  flashed  up  in  the  room  upon  the  instant, 
and  the  curtains  of  his  bed  were  drawn  aside  by 
a  strange  figure, — like  a  child:  yet  not  so  like 
a  child  as  like  an  old  man,  viewed  through  some 
supernatural  medium,  which  gave  him  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  receded  from  the  view,  and 
being  diminished  to  a  child's  proportions.  Its 
hair,  which  hung  about  its  neck  and  down  its 
back,  was  white  as  if  with  age  ;  and  yet  the  face 
had  not  a  wrinkle  in  it,  and  the  tenderest  bloom 
was  on  the  skin.  It  held  a  branch  of  fresh  green 
holly  in  its  hand  ;  and,  in  singular  contradiction 
of  that  wintry  emblem,  had  its  dress  trimmed  with 
summer  flowers.  But  the  strangest  thing  about  it 
was,  that  from  the  crown  of  its  head  there  sprung 
a  bright  clear  jet  of  light,  by  which  all  this  was 
visible  ;  and  which  was  doiibtless  the  occasion  of 
its  using,  in  its  duller  moments,  a  great  extin- 
guisher for  a  cap,  which  it  now  held  under  its  arm. 


'  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  19 

"Are  you  the  Spirit,  sir,  whose  coming  was 
foretold  to  me  ?" 

"I  am!" 

"  Who  and  what  are  you  ?  " 

"I  am  the  Ghost  of  Christmas  Past." 

"  Long  past  ?  " 

"  No.  Your  past.  The  things  that  you  will 
see  with  me  are  shadows  of  the  things  that  have 
been  ;  they  will  have  no  consciousness  of  us." 

Scrooge  then  made  bold  to  inquire  what  busi- 
ness brought  him  there. 

"  Your  welfare.     Rise,  and  walk  with  me !  " 

It  would  have  been  in  vain  for  Scrooge  to  plead 
that  the  weather  and  the  hour  were  not  adapted  to 
pedestrian  purposes  ;  that  bed  was  warm,  and  the 
thermometer  a  long  way  below  freezing  ;  that  he 
was  clad  but  lightly  in  his  slippers,  dressing-gown, 
and  nightcap  ;  and  that  he  had  a  cold  upon  him  at 
that  time.  The  grasp,  though  gentle  as  a  wo- 
man's hand,  was  not  to  be  resisted.  He  rose  ;  but 
finding  that  the  Spirit  made  towards  the  window, 
clasped  its  robe  in  supplication. 

"  I  am  a  mortal,  and  liable  to  fall." 

"  Bear  but  a  touch  of  my  hand  there,"  said  the 
Spirit,  laying  it  upon  his  heart,  "  and  you  shall  be 
upheld  in  more  than  this  !  " 

As  the  words  were  spoken,  they  passed  through 
the  wall^  and  stood  in  the  busy  thoroughfares  of 
a  city.  It  was  made  plain  enough  by  the  dress- 
ing of  the  shops  that  here,  too,  it  was  Christmas 
time. 


20  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

The  Ghost  stopped  at  a  certain  warehouse  door, 
and  asked  Scrooge  if  he  knew  it. 

"  Know  it !     Was  I  apprenticed  here !  " 

They  went  in.  At  sight  of  an  old  gentleman  in 
a  Welsh  wig,  sitting  behind  such  a  high  desk  that, 
if  he  had  been  two  inches  taller,  he  must  have 
knocked  his  head  against  the  ceiling,  Scrooge 
cried  in  great  excitement  :  "  Why,  it  's  old  Fez- 
ziwig !  Bless  his  heart,  it  's  Fezziwig,  alive 
again  !  " 

Old  Fezziwig  laid  down  his  pen,  and  looked  up 
at  the  clock,  which  pointed  to  the  hour  of  seven. 
He  rubbed  his  hands ;  adjusted  his  capacious 
waistcoat ;  laughed  all  over  himself,  from  his  shoes 
to  his  organ  of  benevolence  ;  and  called  out  in  a 
comfortable,  oily,  rich,  fat,  jovial  voice  :  "  Yo  ho, 
there  !     Ebenezer !  Dick  !  " 

A  living  and  moving  picture  of  Scrooge's  former 
self,  a  young  man,  came  briskly  in,  accompanied 
by  his  fellow-prentice. 

"  Dick  Wilkins,  to  be  sure  !  ''  said  Scrooge  to 
the  Ghost.  "  My  old  fellow-prentice,  bless  me, 
yes.  There  he  is.  He  was  very  much  attached 
to  me,  was  Dick.     Poor  Dick!     Dear,  dear  !  " 

"  Yo  ho,  my  boys!  "  said  Fezziwig.  "  No  more 
work  to-night.  Christmas  eve,  Dick.  Christmas, 
Ebenezer  !  Let  'b  have  the  shutters  up,  before  a 
man  can  say  Jack  Kobinson !  Clear  away,  my 
lads,  and  let 's  have  lots  of  room  here  !  " 

Clear  away  !     There  was  nothing  they  would  n't 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  23 

have  cleared  away,  or  could  n't  have  cleared 
awa}',  with  old  Fezziwig  looking  on.  It  was 
done  in  a  minute.  Every  movable  was  packed  off, 
as  if  it  were  dismissed  from  public  life  forever- 
more  ;  the  floor  was  swept  and  watered,  the 
lamps  were  trimmed,  fuel  was  heaped  upon  the 
fire  ;  and  the  warehouse  was  as  snug  and  warm 
and  dry  and  bright  a  ball-room  as  you  would  desire 
to  see  upon  a  winter's  night. 

In  came  a  fiddler  with  a  music-book,  and  went 
up  to  the  lofty  desk,  and  made  an  orchestra  of  it, 
and  tuned  like  fifty  stomach-aches.  In  came  Mrs. 
Fezziwig,  one  vast  substantial  smile.  In  came  the 
three  Miss  Fezziwigs,  beaming  and  lovable.  In 
came  the  six  young  followers  whose  hearts  they 
broke.  In  came  all  the  young  men  and  women  em- 
ployed in  the  business.  In  came  the  housemaid,  with 
her  cousin  the  baker.  In  came  the  cook,  with  her 
brother's  particular  friend  the  milkman.  In  they 
all  came  one  after  another :  some  shyly,  some 
boldly,  some  gracefully,  some  awkwardly,  some 
pushing,  some  pulling ;  in  they  all  came,  anyhow 
and  everyhow.  Away  they  all  went,  twenty  couple 
at  once  ;  hands  half  round  and  back  again  the  other 
way  ;  down  the  middle  and  up  again  ;  round  and 
round  in  various  stages  of  affectionate  grouping  ; 
old  top  couple  always  turning  up  in  the  wrong 
place  ;  new  top  couple  starting  off"  again,  as  soon 
as  they  got  there  ;  all  top  couples  at  last,  and  not 
a  bottom  one  to  help  them.     When  this  result  was 


2i  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

brought  about,  old  Fezziwig,  clapping  his  hands 
to  stop  the  dance,  cried  out,  "  Well  done!"  and 
the  fiddler  plunged  his  hot  face  into  a  pot  of  por- 
ter especially  provided  for  that  purpose. 

There  were  more  dances,  and  there  were  forfeits, 
and  more  dances,  and  there  was  cake,  and  there 
was  negus,  and  there  was  a  great  piece  of  Cold 
Roast,  and  there  was  a  great  piece  of  Cold  Boiled, 
and  there  were  mince-pies,  and  plenty  of  beer. 
But  the  great  effect  of  the  evening  came  after  the 
Roast  and  Boiled,  when  the  fiddler  struck  up  "  Sir 
Roger  de  Coverley."  Then  old  P'ezziwig  stood  out 
to  dance  with  Mrs.  Fezziwig.  Top  couple,  too  ; 
with  a  good  stiff  piece  of  work  cut  out  for  them  ; 
three  or  four  and  twenty  pair  of  partners  ;  people 
who  were  not  to  be  trifled  with  ;  people  who  would 
dance,  and  had  no  notion  of  walking. 

But  if  they  had  been  twice  as  many,  —  four  times, 

—  old  Fezziwig  would  have  been  a  match  for  them 
and  so  would  Mrs.  Fezziwig.  As  to  her,  she  was 
worthy  to  be  his  partner  in  every  sense  of  the  term 
A  positive  light  appeared  to  issue  from  Fezziwig'a 
calves.  Thej  shone  in  every  part  of  the  dance 
You  could  n't  have  predicted,  at  any  given  time, 
what  would  become  of  'em  next.  And  when  old 
Fezziwig  and  Mrs.  Fezziwig  had  gone  all  through 
the  dance,  —  advance  and  retire,  turn  your  partner, 
bow  and  courtesy,  corkscrew,  thread  the  needle, 
and  back  again  to  your  place,  — Fezziwig  "  cut," 

—  cut  so  deftly,  that  he  appeared  to  wink  with 
his  legs. 


A  CHRISTIIAS   CAROL.  23 

When  the  clock  struck  eleven  this  domestic  ball 
broke  up.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fezziwig-  took  their  sta- 
tions, one  on  either  side  the  door,  and,  shaking 
hands  with  every  person  individually  as  he  or  she 
went  out,  wished  him  or  her  a  Merry  Christmas. 
When  everybody  had  retired  but  the  two  'prentices, 
they  did  the  same  to  them  ;  and  thus  the  cheerful 
voices  died  away,  and  the  lads  were  left -to  their 
beds,  which  were  under  a  counter  in  the  back  shop. 

"  A  small  matter,"  said  the  Ghost,  "  to  make 
these  silly  folks  so  full  of  gratitude.  lie  has 
spent  but  a  few  pounds  of  your  mortal  money,  — 
three  or  four  perhaps.  Is  that  so  much  that  he 
deserves  this  praise  ?  " 

"It  isn't  that,"  said  Scrooge,  heated  by  the 
remark,  and  speaking  unconsciously  like  his  former, 
not  his  latter  self,  —  "  it  is  n't  that,  Spirit.  He  has 
the  power  to  render  us  happy  or  unhappy  ;  to  make 
our  service  light  or  burdensome  ;  a  pleasure  or  a 
toil.  Say  that  his  power  lies  in  words  and  looks  ; 
in  things  so  slight  and  insignificant  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  add  and  count  'em  up :  what  then  ?  The 
happiness  he  gives  is  quite  as  great  as  if  it  cost  a 
fortune." 

He  felt  the  Spirit's  glance,  and  stopped. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Nothing  particular." 

"  Something,  I  think  ?  " 

"  No,  no.  I  should  like  to  be  able  to  say  a  word 
or  two  to  my  clerk  just  now.     That 's  all." 


24  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"  My  time  grows  short,"  observed  the  Spirit. 
"Quick!" 

This  was  not  addressed  to  Scrooge,  or  to  any 
one  whom  he  could  Bce,  but  it  produced  an  imme- 
diate effect.  For  again  he  saw  himself.  lie  was 
older  now  ;  a  man  in  the.  prime  of  life. 

He  was  not  alone,  but  sat  by  the  side  of  a  fair 
young  girl  in  a  black  dress,  in  whose  eyes  there 
were  tears. 

"  It  matters  little,"  she  said  softly  to  Scrooge's 
ibrmer  self.  "To  you,  very  little.  Another  idol 
lslJ  displaced  me  ;  and  if  it  can  comfort  you  in  time 
to  come,  as  I  would  have  tried  to  do,  I  have  no 
just  cause  to  grieve." 

"  WL'it  Idol  has  displaced  you  ?  " 

"  A  golden  one.  You  fear  the  world  too  much. 
I  have  seen  your  nobler  iinpiratiuns  fall  off  one  by 
one,  until  \he  viaster-paseion.  Gain,  engrosses  you. 
Have  I  not  ?  " 

"  What  then  ?  Even  if  I  have  grown  so  much 
wiser,  what  then  ?  I  am  not  changed  towards 
you.  Have  I  ever  sought  release  from  our  en- 
gagement ?  " 

"  In  words,  no.     Never." 

"  In  what,  then  ?  " 

"  In  a  changed  nature  ;  in  an  altered  spirit;  in 
another  atmosphere  of  life  ;  another  Hope  as  its 
great  end.  If  you  were  free  to-day,  to-morrow, 
yesterday,  can  even  I  believe  that  you  would  choose 
a  dowerless  girl ;    or,  choosing  her,  do  I  not  know 


A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  25 

that  your  repentance  and  regret  would  surely 
follow  ?  I  do  ;  and  I  release  you.  With  a  full  heart, 
for  the  love  of  him  you  once  were." 

"Spirit!  remove  me  from  this  place." 

"  I  told  you  these  were  shadows  of  the  things 
that  have  been,"  said  the  Ghost.  "  That  they  are 
what  they  are,  do  not  blame  me  !  " 

"Remove  me!"  Scrooge  exclaimed.  "I  can- 
not bear  it !  Leave  me  !  Take, me  back.  Haunt 
me  no  longer  !  " 

As  he  struggled  with  the  Spirit  he  was  conscious 
of  being  exhausted,  and  overcome  by  an  irresistible 
drowsiness  ;  and,  further,  of  being  in  his  own  bed- 
room. He  had  barely  time  to  reel  to  bed  before  he 
sank  into  a  hea'vy  sleep. 


26  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

STAVE    THREE. 

THE    SECOND    OF    THE    THREE    SPIRIT  B. 

^CROOGE  awoke  in  his  own  bedroom.  There 
k^  was  no  doubt  about  that.  But  it  and  his  own 
adjoining  sitting-rgom,  into  which  he  shuffled  in  hia 
slippers,  attracted  by  a  great  light  there,  had  under- 
gone a  surprising  transformation.  The  walls  and 
ceiling  were  so  hung  with  living  green,  that  it 
looked  a  perfect  grove.  The  leaves  of  holly, 
mistletoe,  and  iv}''  reflected  back  the  light,  as  if  so 
many  little  mirrors  had  been  scattered  there  ;  and 
such  a  mighty  blaze  went  roaring  up  the  chimney 
as  that  petrifaction  of  a  hearth  had  never  known  in 
Scrooge's  time,  or  Marley's,  or  for  many  and  many 
a  winter  season  gone.  Heaped  upon  the  floor,  to 
form  a  kind  of  throne,  were  turkeys,  geese,  game, 
brawn,  great  joints  of  meat,  sucking  pigs,  long 
wreaths  of  sausages,  mince-pies,  plum-puddings, 
barrels  of  oysters,  red-hot  chestnuts,  cherry- 
cheeked  apples,  juicy  oranges,  luscious  pears, 
immense  twelfth-cakes,  and  great  bowls  of  punch. 
In  easy  state  upon  this  couch  there  sat  a  Giant 
glorious  to  see ;  who  bore  a  glowing  torch,  in 
shape  not  unlike  Plenty's  horn,  and  who  raised 
it  high  to  shed  its  light  on  Scrooge,  as  he  camo 
peeping  round  the  door. 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  27 

*'  Come  in,  —  come  in !  and  know  me  better,  man! 
I  am  the  Ghost  of  Christmas  Present.  Look  upon 
me !     You  have  never  seen  the  like  of  me  before  !  " 

"  Never." 

"  Have  never  vralked  forth  with  the  younger 
members  of  my  family ;  meaning  (for  I  am  very 
young)  my  elder  brothers  born  in  these  latei 
years  ?  "  pursued  the  Phantom. 

"  I  don't  think  I  have,  I  am  afraid  I  have  not 
Have  you  had  many  brothers,  Spirit  ?  " 

"  More  than  eighteen  hundred." 

"  A  tremendous  family  to  provide  for!  Spirit, 
conduct  me  where  you  will.  I  went  forth  last 
night  on  compulsion,  and  I  learnt  a  lesson  which 
is  working  now.  To-night,  if  you  have  aught  to 
teach  me,  let  me  pi-ofit  by  it." 

"  Touch  my  robe  !  " 

Scrooge  did  as  he  was  told,  and  held  it  fast. 

The  room  and  its  contents  all  vanished  instantly, 
and  they  stood  in  the  city  streets  upon  a  snowy 
Christmas  morning. 

Scrooge  and  the  Ghost  passed  on,  invisible, 
straight  to  Scrooge's  clerk's  ;  and  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  doow  the  Spirit  smiled,  and  stopped  to 
bless  Bob  Cratchit's  dwelling  with  the  sprinklings 
of- his  torch.  Think  of  that!  Bob  had  but  fifteen 
"  Bob"  a  week  himself;  he  pocketed  on  Saturdays 
but  fifteen  copies  of  his  Christian  name  ;  and  yet 
the  Ghost  of  Christmas  Present  blessed  his  four- 
roomed  house ! 


28  A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

Then  up  rose  Mrs.  Cratchit,  Cratchit's  wife, 
dressed  out  but  poorly  in  a  twice-turned  gown,  but 
brave  in  ribbons,  which  are  cheap  and  make  a 
goodly  show  for  sixpence  ;  and  she  laid  the  cloth, 
assisted  by  Belinda  Cratchit,  second  of  her  daugh- 
ters, also  brave  in  ribbons  ;  while  Master  Peter 
Cratchit  plunged  a  fork  into  the  saucepan  of  pota- 
toes, and,  getting  the  corners  of  his  monstrous 
shirt-collar  (Bob's  private  property,  conferred  upon 
his  son  and  heir  in  honor  of  the  day)  into  his  mouth, 
rejoiced  to  find  himself  so  gallantly  attired,  and 
yearned  to  show  his  linen  in  the  fashionable  Parks. 
And  now  two  smaller  Cratchits,  boy  and  girl 
came  tearing  in,  screaming  that  outside  the  ba- 
ker's they  had  smelt  the  goose,  and  known  it 
for  their  own ;  and,  basking  in  luxurious  thoughts 
of  sage  and  onion,  these  young  Cratchits  danced 
about  the  table,  and  exalted  Master  Peter  Cratchit 
to  the  skies,  while  he  (not  proud,  although  his 
collars  nearly  choked  him)  blew  the  fire,  until  the 
slow  potatoes,  bubbling  up,  knocked  loudly  at  the 
saucepan-lid  to  be  let  out  and  peeled. 

"  What  has  ever  got  your  precious  father 
then  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Cratchit.  "  And  your  brother 
Tiny  Tim  I  And  Martha  warn't  as  late  last 
Christmas  day  by  half  an  hour  !  " 

"  Here  's  Martha,  mother  I  "  said  a  girl,  appear- 
ing as  she  spoke. 

"  Here's  Martha,  mother  !  "  cried  the  two  yomig 
Cratchits.  "  Hurrah !  There 's  such  a  goose,  Mcu" 
thai" 


A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  29 

"  Why,  bless  your  heart  alive,  my  dear,  how 
late  you  are !  "  said  Mrs.  Cratchit,  kissing  her  a 
dozen  times,  and  taking  off  her  shawl  and  bonnet 
for  her. 

"  We  'd  a  deal  of  work  to  finish  up  last  night," 
replied  the  girl,  "  and  had  to  clear  away  this 
morning,  mother  1  " 

.  "  Well !  Never  mind  so  long  as  you  are  come," 
said  Mrs.  Cratchit.  "Sit  ye  down  before  the 
fire,  my  dear,  and  have  a  warm.  Lord  bless  ye  !  " 

"No,  no  1  There's  father  coming,"  cried  the 
two  young  Cratchits,  who  were  everywhere  at 
once.     "  Hide,  Martha,  hide  !  " 

So  Martha  hid  herself,  and  in  came  little  Bob, 
the  father,  with  at  least  three  feet  of  comforter,  ex- 
clusive of  the  fringe,  hanging  down  before  him  ; 
and  his  threadbare  clothes  darned  up  and  brushed, 
to  look  seasonable  ;  and  Tiny  Tim  upon  his  shoul- 
der. Alas  for  Tiny  Tim,  he  bore  a  little  crutch, 
and  had  his  limbs  supported  by  an  iron  frame  ! 

"  Why,  where  's  our  Martha  ?  "  cried  Bob  Cratch- 
it, looking  round. 

"  Not  coming,"  said  Mrs.  Cratchit. 

"  Not  coming !  "  said  Bob,  with  a  sudden  de- 
clension in  his  high  spirits  ;  for  he  had  been 
Tim's  blood-horse  all  the  way  from  church,  and 
had  come  home  rampant,  —  "  not  coming  upon 
Christmas  day !  " 

Martha  did  n't  like  to  see  him  disappointed,  ii 
it  were  only  in  joke  ;  so  she  came  out  prematurely 


30  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

from  behind  the  closet  door,  and  ran  into  hia 
arms,  while  the  two  young  Cratchits  hustled  Tiny 
Tim,  and  bore  him  off  into  the  wash-house,  that  he 
might  hear  the  pudding  singing  in  the  copper. 

"  And  how  did  little  Tim  behave  ?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Cratchit,  when  she  had  rallied  Bob  on  his  cre- 
dulity, and  Bob  had  hugged  his  daughter  to  his 
heart's  content. 

"  As  good  as  gold,"  said  Bob,  "  and  better. 
Somehow  he  gets  thoughtful,  sitting  by  himself 
so  much,  and  thinks  the  strangest  things  you 
ever  heard.  lie  told  me,  coming  home,  that  he 
hoped  the  people  saw  him  in  the  church,  because 
he  was  a  cripple,  and  it  might  be  pleasant  to  them 
to  remember,  upon  Christmas  day,  who  made  lame 
beggars  walk  and  blind  men  see." 

Bob's  voice  was  tremulous  when  he  told  them 
this,  and  trembled  more  when  he  said  that  Tiny 
Tim  was  growing  strong  and  hearty. 

His  active  little  crutch  was  heard  upon  the  floor, 
and  back  came  Tiny  Tim  before  another  word  was 
spoken,  escorted  by  his  brother  and  sister  to  his 
stool  beside  the  fire  ;  and  while  Bob,  turning  up 
his  cuffs,  —  as  if,  poor  fellow,  they  were  capable 
of  being  made  more  shabby, — compounded  some 
hot  mixture  in  a  jug  with  gin  and  lemons,  and 
stirred  it  round  and  round  and  put  it  on  the  hob 
to  simmer,  Master  Peter  and  the  two  ubiquitous 
young  Cratchits  went  to  fetch  the  goose,  with 
which  they  soon  returned  in  high  procession. 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  81 

Mrs.  Cratchit  made  the  gravy  (ready  before- 
hand in  a  little  saucepan)  hissing  hot ;  Master 
Peter  mashed  the  potatoes  with  incredible  vigor  ; 
Miss  Belinda  sweetened  up  the  apple-sauce  ;  Mar- 
tha dusted  the  hot  plates  ;  Bob  took  Tiny  Tim 
beside  him  in  a  tiny  corner  at  the  table  ;  the  two 
young  Cratchits  set  chairs  for  everybody,  not 
forgetting  themselves,  and  mounting  guard  upon 
their  posts,  crammed  spoons  into  their  moutlis, 
lest  they  should  shriek  for  goose  before  their  turn 
came  to  be  helped.  At  last  the  dishes  were  set 
on,  and  grace  was  said.  It  was  succeeded  by  a 
breathless  pause,  as  Mrs.  Cratchit,  looking  slowly 
all  along  the  carving-knife,  prepared  to  plunge 
it  in  the  breast  ;  but  when  she  did,  and  when 
the  long-expected  gush  of  stuflSng  issued  forth, 
one  murmur  of  delight  arose  all  round  the  board, 
and  even  Tiny  Tim,  excited  by  the  two  young 
Cratchits,  beat  on  the  table  with  the  handle  of  his 
knife,  and  feebly  cried,  Hurrah  ! 

There  never  was  such  a  goose.  Bob  said  he 
didn't  believe  there  ever  was  such  a  goose  cooked. 
Its  tenderness  and  flavor,  size  and  cheapness,  were 
the  themes  of  universal  admiration.  Eked  out  by 
apple-sauce  and  mashed  potatoes,  it  was  a  suffi- 
cient dinner  for  tlie  whole  family ;  indeed,  as 
Mrs.  Cratchit  said  with  groat  delight  (surveying 
one  small  atom  of  a  bone  upon  the  dish),  they 
had  n't  ate  it  all  at  last !  Yet  every  one  had  had 
enough,  and  the  youngest  Cratchits  in  particular 


82  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

were  steeped  in  sage  and  onion  to  the  eyebrows  I 
But  now,  the  plates  being  changed  by  Miss  Be- 
linda, Mrs.  Cratchit  left  the  room  alone,  — too  ner- 
vous to  bear  witnesses,  —  to  take  the  pudding  up, 
and  bring  it  in. 

Suppose  it  should  not  be  done  enough  !  Sup- 
pose it  should  break  in  turning  out !  Suppose 
somebody  should  have  got  over  the  wall  of  the 
back  yard,  and  stolen  it,  while  they  were  merry 
with  the  goose,  —  a  supposition  at  which  the  two 
young  Cratchits  became  livid  !  All  sorts  of  hor- 
rors were  supposed. 

Hallo !  A  great  deal  of  steam  !  The  pudding 
was  out  of  the  copper.  A  smell  like  a  washing- 
day  !  That  was  the  cloth.  A  smell  like  an  eating- 
house  and  a  pastry-cook's  next  door  to  each  other, 
with  a  laundress's  next  door  to  that !  That  was 
the  pudding  !  In  half  a  minute  Mrs.  Cratchit  en- 
tered,—  flushed  but  smiling  proudly, — with  the 
pudding,  like  a  speckled  cannon-ball,  so  hard  and 
firm,  blazing  in  half  of  half  a  quartern  of  ignited 
brandy,  and  bedight  with  Christmas  holly  stuck 
into  the  top. 

0,  a  wonderful  pudding  !  Bob  Cratchit  said, 
and  calmly  too,  that  he  regarded  it  as  the  greatest 
success  achieved  by  Mrs.  Cratchit  since  their 
H^Arriage.  Mrs.  Cratchit  said  that  now  the  weight 
was  off  her  mind,  she  would  confess  she  had  had 
her  doubts  about  the  quantity  of  flour.  Everybody 
had  something  to  say  about  it,  but  nobody  said  oi 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  33 

thought  it  was  at  all  a  small  pudding  for  a  largo 
family.  Any  Cratchit  would  have  blushed  to  hint 
at  such  a  thing. 

At  last  the  dinner  was  all  done,  the  cloth  was 
cleared,  the  hearth  swept,  and  the  fire  made  up. 
The  compound  in  the  jug  being  tasted,  and  con- 
sidered perfect,  apples  and  oranges  were  put  upon 
the  table,  and  a  shovelful  of  chestnuts  on  the  fire. 

Then  all  the  Cratchit  family  drew  round  the 
bearth,  in  what  Bob  Cratchit  called  a  circle, 
and  at  Bob  Cratchit's  elbow  stood  the  family  dis- 
play of  glass,  —  two  tumblers,  and  a  custard-cup 
without  a  handle. 

These  held  the  hot  stuff  from  the  jug,  however. 
as  well  as  golden  goblets  would  have  doi»e  ;  and 
Bob  served  it  out  with  beaming  looks,  while  the 
chestnuts  on  the  fire  spattered  and  crackled  noisily. 
Then  Bob  proposed  :  — 

"  A  Merry  Christmas  to  us  all,  my  dears.  God 
bless  us !  " 

Which  all  the  family  re-echoed. 

"  God  bless  us  every  one  !  "  said  Tiny  Tim,  the 
last  of  all. 

He  sat  very  close  to  his  father's  side,  upon  his 
little  stool.  Bob  held  his  withered  little  hand  in 
his,  as  if  he  loved  the  child,  and  wished  to  keep 
him  by  his  side,  and  dreaded  that  he  might  be 
taken  from  him. 

Scrooge  raised  his  head  speedily,  on  hearing  his 
own  name. 

8 


34  A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"Mr.  Scrooge  1 "  said  Bob;  "I'll  give  you 
Mr.  Scrooge,  the  Founder  of  the  Feast !  " 

"  The  Founder  of  the  Feast  indeed  !  "  cried  Mrs. 
Cratchit,  reddening.  "  I  wish  I  had  hini  hei*e. 
I  'd  give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind  to  feast  upon, 
and  I  hope  he  'd  have  a  good  appetite  for  it." 

"My  dear,"  said  Bob,  "the  children!  Christ- 
mas day." 

"  It  should  be  Christmas  day,  I  am  sure,"  said 
she,  "  on  which  one  drinks  the  health  of  such  an 
odious,  stingy,  hard,  unfeeling  man  as  Mr.  Scrooge, 
You  know  he  is,  Robert !  Nobody  knows  it  better 
than  you  do,  poor  fellow  !  " 

"  My  dear,"  was  Bob's  mild  answer,  "  Christ-- 
mas  day." 

"  I  '11  drink  his  health  for  your  sake  and  the 
day's,"  said  Mrs.  Cratchit,  "  not  for  his.  Long 
life  to  him !  A  merry  Christmas  and  a  happy 
New  Year !  He  '11  be  very  merry  and  very  happy, 
I  have  no  doubt !  " 

The  children  drank  the  toast  after  her.  It  was 
the  first  of  their  proceedings  which  had  no  hearti- 
ness in  it.  Tiny  Tim  drank  it  last  of  all,  but  he 
did  n't  care  twopence  for  it.  Scrooge  was  the 
Ogre  of  the  family.  The  mention  of  his  name  cast 
a  dark  shadow  on  the  party,  which  was  not  dis- 
pelled for  full  five  minutes. 

After  it  had  passed  away,  they  were  ten  times 
merrier  than  before,  from  the  mere  relief  of  Scrooge 
the    Baleful   being  done  with.     Bob  Cratchit  told 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAhOL.  35 

them  how  he  had  a  situation  in  his  eye  for  Mas- 
ter Peter,  which  would  bring  in,  if  obtained, 
full  five  and  sixpence  weekly.  The  two  young' 
Cratchits  laughed  tremendously  at  the  idea  of 
Peter's  being  a  man  of  business  ;  and  Peter  him- 
self looked  thoughtfully  at  the  fire  from  be- 
tween his  collars,  as  if  he  were  deliberating  what 
particular  investments  he  should  favor  when  he 
came  into  the  receipt  of  that  bewildei'ing  income. 
Martha,  who  was  a  poor  apprentice  at  a  milli- 
ner's, then  told  them  what  kind  of  work  she  had 
to  do,  and  how  many  hours  she  worked  at  a 
stretch,  and  how  she  meant  to  lie  abed  to-morrow 
morning  for  a  good  long  rest ;  to-morrow  being 
ft  holiday  she  passed  at  home.  Also  how  she 
had  seen  a  countess  and  a  lord  some  days  be- 
fore, and  how  the  lord  "  was  much  about  as 
tall  as  Peter  "  ;  at  which  Peter  pulled  up  his  col- 
lars so  high  that  you  could  n't  have  seen  his  head 
if  you  had  been  there.  All  this  time  the  chest- 
nuts and  the  jug  went  round  and  round ;  and  by 
and  by  they  had  a  song,  about  a  lost  child  trav- 
elling in  the  snow,  from  Tiny  Tim,  who  had  a 
plaintive  little  voice,  and  sang  it  very  well  in- 
deed. 

There  was  nothing  of  high  mark  in  this.  They 
were  not  a  handsome  family  ;  they  were  not  well 
dressed  ;  their  shoes  were  far  from  being  water- 
proof ;  their  clothes  were  scanty  ;  and  Peter  might 
have  known,  and  very  likely  did,  the  inside  of  apawn- 


86  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROK. 

broker's.  But  they  were  happy,  grateful,  pleased 
with  one  another,  and  contented  with  the  time  j 
and  when  they  faded,  and  looked  happier  yet  in 
the  bright  sprinklings  of  the  Spirit's  torch  ak 
parting,  Scrooge  had  his  eye  upon  them,  and  es- 
pecially on  Tiny  Tim,  until  the  last. 

It  was  a  great  surprise  to  Scrooge,  as  this  scene 
vanished,  to  hear  a  hearty  laugh.  It  was  a  much 
greater  surprise  to  Scrooge  to  recognize  it  as  his 
own  nephew's,  and  to  find  himself  in  a  bright,  dry, 
gleaming  room,  with  the  Spirit  standing  smiling 
by  his  side,  and  looking  at  that  same  nephew. 

It  is  a  fair,  even-handed,  noble  adjustment  of 
things,  that  while  there  is  infection  in  disease  and 
sorrow,  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  irresistibly 
contagious  as  laughter  and  good-humor.  When 
Scrooge's  nephew  laughed,  Scrooge's  niece  by 
marriage  laughed  as  -heartily  as  he.  And  their 
assembled  friends,  being  not  a  bit  behindhand, 
laughed  out  lustily. 

"  He  said  that  Christmas  was  a  humbug,  as  I 
live  I  "  cred  Scrooge's  nephew.  "  He  believed  it 
tool" 

"  More  shame  for  him,  Fred  ! "  said  Scrooge's 
hieoe,  indignantly.  Bless  those  women !  they 
never  do  anything  by  halves.  They  are  always 
in  earnest. 

She  was  very  pretty  ;  exceedingly  pretty.  With 
a  dimpled,  surprised-looking,  capital  face  ;  a  ripo 
^ittle  mouth  that  seemed  made  to  bo  kissed,  —  as 


A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL.  37 

no  doubt  it  was ;  all  kinds  of  good  little  dots 
about  her  chin,  that  melted  into  one  another 
when  she  laughed  ;  and  the  sunniest  pair  of  eyes 
you  ever  saw  in  any  little  creature's  head.  Alto- 
gether she  was  what  you  would  have  called  pro- 
voking, but  satisfactory,  too.  0,  perfectly  satis- 
factory. 

"  He 's  a  comical  old  fellow,"  said  Scrooge's 
nephew,  "  that 's  the  truth  ;  and  not  so  pleasant 
as  he  might  be,  -However,  his  offences  carry 
their  own  punishment,  and  I  have  nothing  to  say 
against  him.  Who  suffers  by  his  ill  whims  ? 
Himsel/,  always.  Here  he  takes  it  into  his  head 
to  dislike  us,  and  he  won't  come  and  dine  with 
us.  What 's  the  consequence  ?  He  don't  lose 
much  of  a  dinner." 

"  Indeed,  I  think  he  loses  a  very  good  dinner," 
interrupted  Scrooge's  niece.  Everybody  else  said 
the  same,  and  they  must  be  allowed  to  have  been 
competent  judges,  because  they  had  just  had 
dinner ;  and,  with  the  dessert  upon  the  table,  were 
clustered  round  the  fire,  by  lamplight. 

"  Well,  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,"  said 
Scrooge's  nephew,  "because  I  have -n't  any  great 
faith,  in  these  youug  housekeepers.  What  do  you 
say,  Topper  ?  " 

Topper  clearly  had  his  eye  on  one  of  Scrooge's 
niece's  sisters,  for  he  answered  that  a  bachelor 
was  a  wretched  outcast,  who  had  no  right  to 
express   an    opinion    on    the    subject.       Whereat 


88  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

Scrooge's  niece's  sister  —  the  plump  one  with 
the  lace  tucker  ;  not  the  one  with  the  roses  — > 
blushed. 

After  tea  they  had  some  music.  For  they 
were  a  musical  family,  and  knew  what  they  were 
about,  when  they  sung  a  Glee  or  Catch,  I  can  as- 
sure you,  —  especially  Topper,  who  could  growl 
•away  in  the  bass  like  a  good  one,  and  never  swell 
the  large  veins  in  his  forehead,  or  get  red  in  the 
face  over  it. 

But  they  did  n't  devote  the  whole  evening  to 
music.  After  a  while  they  played  at  forfeits  ;  for 
it  is  good  to  be  children  sometimes,  and  never 
better  than  at  Christmas,  when  its  mighty  Founder 
was  a  child  himself.  There  was  first  a  game  at 
blind-man's-buff  though.  And  I  no  more  believe 
Topper  was  really  blinded  than  I  believe  he  had 
eyes  in  his  boots.  Because  the  way  in  which  he 
went  after  that  plump  sister  in  the  lace  tucker  was 
an  outrage  on  the  credulity  of  human  nature. 
Knocking  down  the  fire-irons,  tumbling  over  the 
chairs,  bumping  up  against  the  piano,  smothering 
himself  among  the  curtains,  wherever  she  went 
there  went  he  !  He  always  knew  where  the  plump 
sister  was.  lie  would  n't  catch  anybody  else.  If 
you  had  fallen  up  against  him,  as  some  of  them  did, 
and  stood  there,  he  would  have  made  a  feint  of  en- 
deavoring to  seize  you,  which  would  have  been  an 
affront  to  your  understanding,  and  would  instantly 
have  sidled  oft'  in  the  direction  of  the  plump  sister. 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  39 

"  Here  is  a  new  game,"  said  Scrooge.  "  One 
half-hour,  Spirit,  only  one  !  " 

It  was  a  Game  called  Yes  and  No,  where 
Scrooge's  nephew  had  to  think  of  something,  and 
the  rest  must  find  out  what ;  he  only  answering  to 
their  questions  yes  or  no,  as  the  case  was.  The 
fire  of  questioning  to  which  he  was  exposed 
elicited  from  him  that  he  was  thinking  of  an  animal, 
a  live  animal,  rather  a  disagreeable  animal,  a  savage 
animal,  an  animal  that  growled  and  grunted  some- 
times, and  talked  sometimes,  and  lived  in  London, 
and  walked  about  the  streets,  and  wasn't  made  a 
show  of,  and  was  n't  led  by  anybody,  and  did  n't 
live  in  a  menagerie,  and  was  never  killed  in  a 
market,  and  was  not  a  horse,  or  an  ass,  or  a  cow, 
or  a  bull,  or  a  tiger,  or  a  dog,  or  a  pig,  or  a  cat,  or 
a  bear.  At  every  new  question  put  to  him,  this 
nephew  burst  into  a  fresh  roar  of  laughter  ;  and 
was  so  inexpressibly  tickled,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  get  up  off"  the  sofa  and  stamp.  At  last  the 
plump  sister  cried  out :  — 

"  I  have  found  it  out !  1  know  what  it  is,  Fred ! 
I  know  what  it  is  !  "  * 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  cried  Fred. 

"  It 's  your  uncle  Scro-o-o-o-oge  !  " 

Wiiich  it  certainly  was.  Admiration  was  the 
universal  sentiment,  though  some  objected  that  the 
reply  to  "Is  it  a  bear?"  ought  to  have  been 
"  Yes." 

Uncle  Scrooge  had  imperceptibly  become  so  gay 


40  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

and  light  of  heart,  that  he  would  have  drank  to 
the  unconscious  company  in  an  inaudible  speech 
But  the  whole  scene  passed  off  in  the  breatb  of 
the  last  word  spoken  by  his  nephew  ;  and  he  and 
the  Spirit  were  again  upon  their  travels. 

Much  they  saw,  and  far  they  went,  and  many 
homes  they  visited,  but  always  with  a  happy  end. 
The  Spirit  stood  beside  sick-beds,  and  they  were 
cheerful  ;  on  foreign  lands,  and  they  were  close  at 
home  ;  by  struggling  men,  and  they  were  patient 
in  their  greater  hope  ;  by  poverty,  and  it  was  rich. 
In  almshouse,  hospital,  and  jail,  in  misery's  every 
refuge,  where  vain  man  in  his  little  brief  authority 
had  not  made  fast  the  door,  and  barred  the  Spirit 
out,  he  left  his  blessing,  and  taught  Scrooge  his 
precepts.  Suddenly,  as  they  stood  together  in 
an  open  place,  the  bell  struck  twelve. 

Scrooge  looked  about  him  for  the  Ghost,  and 
saw  it  no  more.  As  the  last  stroke  ceased  to 
vibrate,  he  remembered  the  prediction  of  old  Jacob 
Marley,  and,  lifting  up  his  eyes,  beheld  a  Holemn 
Phantom,  draped  and  hooded,  coming  like  a  mit,t 
along  the  ground  totvards  him. 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  41 


STAVE    FOUR. 

THE   LAST    OP    THE    SPIRITS. 

THE  Phantom  slowly,  gravely,  silently  ap- 
proached. When  it  came  near  him,  Scrooge 
bent  down  upon  his  knee  ;  for  in  the  air  through 
which  this  Spirit  moved  it  seemed  to  scatter  gloom 
and  mystery. 

It  was  shrouded  in  a  deep  black  garment,  which 
concealed  its  head,  its  face,  its  form,  and  left 
nothing  of  it  visible  save  one  outstretched  hand. 
He  knew  no  more,  for  the  Spirit  neither  spoke 
nor  moved. 

"  I  am  in  the  presence  of  the  Ghost  of  Christmas 
Yet  To  Come  ?  Ghost  of  the  Future  !  I  fear  you 
more  than  any  spectre  I  have  seen.  But  as  I  know 
your  purpose  is  to  do  me  good,  and  as  I  hope  to 
live  to  be  another  man  from  what  I  was,  I  am 
prepared  to  bear  you  company,  and  do  it  with  a 
thankful  heart.     Will  you  not  speak  to  me  ?  " 

It  gave  him  no  reply.  The  hand  was  pointecl 
straight  before  them. 

"Lead  on!  Lead  on!  The  night  is  waning 
fast,  and  it  is  precious  time  to  me,  I  know.  Lead 
on.  Spirit!" 

They  scarcely  seemed  to  enter  the  city  ;  for  the 
city  rather  seemed  to  spring  up  about  them.     But 


42  A  CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

there  they  were  in  the  heart  of  it ;  on  'Change, 
amongst  the  merchants. 

The  Spirit  stopped  beside  one  little  knot  of  busi- 
ness men.  Observing  that  the  hand  was  pointed 
to  them,  Scrooge  advanced  to  listen  to  their  talk. 

"  No,"  said  a  great  fat  man  with  a  monstrous 
chin,  "I  don't  know  piuch  ab'out  it  either  way.  I 
only  know  he  's  dead." 

"  When  did  he  die  ?"  inquired  another. 

"  Last  night,  I  believe." 

"  Why,  what  was  the  matter  with  him  ?  I 
thought  he  'd  never  die." 

"  God  knows,"  said  the  first,  with  a  yawn. 

"  What  has  he  done  with  his  money  ?  "  asked  a 
red-faced  gentleman. 

"  I  have  n't  heard,"  said  the  man  with  the  large 
chin.  "  Company,  perhaps.  He  has  n't  left  it  to 
me.     That 's  all  I  know.     By,  by !  " 

Scrooge  was  at  first  inclined  to  be  surprised  that 
the  Spirit  should  attach  importance  to  conversa- 
tion apparently  so  trivial  ;  but  feeling  assured 
that  it  must  have  some  hidden  purpose,  he  set 
himself  to  consider  what  it  was  likely  to  be.  It 
could  scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  any  bearing  on 
the  death  of  Jacob,  his  old  partner,  for  that  was 
Past,  and  this  Ghost's  province  was  the  Future. 

He  looked  about  in  that  very  place  for  his  own 
image  ;  but  another  man  stood  in  his  accustomed 
corner,  and  though  the  clock  pointed  to  his  usual 
time  of  day  for  being  there,  he  saw  no  likeness  of 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  43 

himself  among  the  multitudes  that  poured  in 
through  the  Porch.  It  gave  him  little  surprise, 
however  ;  for  he  had  been  revolving  in  his  mind  a 
change  of  life,  and  he  thought  and  hoped  he  saw 
his  new-born  resolutions  carried  out  in  this. 

They  left  this  busy  scene,  and  went  into  an  ob- 
scure part  of  the  town,  to  a  low  shop  where  iron, 
old  rags,  bottles,  bones,  and  greasy  ofial  were 
bought.  A  gray -haired  rascal,  of  great  age,  sat 
smoking  his  pipe. 

Scrooge  and  the  Phantom  came  into  the  pres- 
ence of  this  man,  just  as  a  woman  with  a  heavy 
bundle  slunk  into  the  shop.  But  she  had  scarcely 
entered,  when  another  woman,  similarly  laden, 
came  in  too  ;  and  she  was  closely  followed  by  a 
man  in  faded  black.  After  a  short  period  of  blank 
astonishment,  in  which  the  old  man  with  the  pipe 
had  joined  them,  they  all  three  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"  Let  the  charwoman  alone  to  be  the  first  1  " 
cried  she  who  had  entei'ed  first.  "  Let  the  laun- 
dress alone  to  be  the  second  ;  and  let  the  under- 
taker's man  alone  to  be  the  third.  Look  here,  old 
Joe,  here  's  a  chance  !  If  we  have  n't  all  three 
met  here  without  meaning  it!" 

"  You  could  n't  have  met  in  a  better  place.  You 
were  made  free  of  it  long  ago,  you  know  ;  and  the 
other  two  ain't  strangers.  What  have  you  got  to 
sell  ?     What  have  you  got  to  sell  ?  " 

"  Half  a  minute's  patience,  Joe,  and  you  shall 
see." 


44  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

"  What  odds  then  !  What  odds,  Mrs.  Dilber  ?  '* 
said  the  woman.  "  Every  person  has  a  right  to 
take  care  of  themselves.  He  always  did  !  Who  'a 
the  worse  for  the  loss  of  a  few  things  like  these  ? 
Not  a  dead  man,  I  suppose." 

Mrs.  Dilber,  whose  manner  was  remarkable  for 
general  propitiation,  said,  "  No,  indeed,  ma'am." 

"  If  he  wanted  to  keep  'era  after  he  was  dead,  a 
wicked  old  screw,  why  was  n't  he  natural  in  his  life- 
time ?  If  he  had  been,  he  'd  have  had  somebody  to 
look  after  him  when  he  was  struck  with  Death,  in- 
stead of  lying  gasping  out  his  last  there,  alone  by 
himself" 

"  It 's  the  truest  word  that  ever  was  spoke,  it 's 
a  judgment  on  him." 

"  I  wish  it  was  a  little  heavier  judgment,  and  it 
should  have  been,  you  may  depend  upon  it,  if  I 
could  have  laid  my  hands  on  anything  else.  Open 
that  bundle,  old  Joe,  and  let  me  know  the  value  of 
it.  Speak  out  plain.  I  'm  not  afraid  to  be  the  first, 
nor  afraid  for  them  to  see  it." 

Joe  went  down  on  his  knees  for  the  greater 
convenience  of  opening  the  bundle,  and  dragged 
out  a  large  and  heavy  roll  of  some  dark  stuff. 

"  What  do  you  call  this  ?     Bed-curtains  !  " 

"  Ah  !  Bed-curtains  1  Don't  drop  that  oil  upou 
the  blankets,  now." 

"  His  blankets  ?  " 

"  Whose  else's  do  you  think  ?  He  is  n't  likely 
to  take  cold  without  'em,  I  dare  say.     Ah !     You 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  45 

may  look  through  that  shirt  till  your  eyes  ache  ; 
but  you  won't  find  a  hole  in  it,  nor  a  threadbare 
place.  It 's  the  best  he  had,  and  a  fine  one  too. 
They  'd  have  wasted  it  by  dressing  him  up  in  it, 
if  it  had  n't  been  for  me," 

Scrooge  listened  to  this  dialogue  in  horror 

"  Spirit !  I  see,  I  see.  The  case  of  this  unhappy 
man  might  be  my  own.  My  life  tends  that  way, 
now.     Merciful  Heaven,  what  is  this  ! " 

The  scene  had  changed,  and  now  he  almost 
touched  a  bare,  uncurtained  bed.  A  pale  light, 
rising  in  the  outer  air,  fell  straight  upon  this  bed  ; 
and  on  it,  unwatched,  unwept,  uncared  for,  was 
the  body  of  this  plunderecf.unknown  man. 

"  Spirit,  let  me  see  some  tenderness  connected 
with  a  death,  or  this  dark  chamber,  Spirit,  will  ha 
forever  present  to  me." 

The  Ghost  conducted  him  to  poor  Bob  Cratchit's 
house,  — :  the  dwelling  he  had  visited  before,  —  and 
found  the  mother  and  the  children  seated  round  the 
fire. 

Quiet.  Very  quiet.  The  noisy  little  Cratchits 
were  as  still  as  statues  in  one  corner,  and  sat  look- 
ing up  at  Peter,  who  had  a  book  before  him.  The 
mother  and  her  daughters  were  engaged  in  needle- 
work.    But  surely  they  were  very  quiet ! 

"  '  And  he  took  a  child,  and  set  him  in  the  midst 
of  them.'" 

Where  had  Scrooge  heard  those  words  ?  He  had 
not  dreamed  them.     The  boy  must  have  read  them 


46  A  CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

out,  as  he  and  the  Spirit  crossed  the  threshold. 
Why  did  he  not  go  on  ? 

The  mother  laid  her  work  upon  the  table,  and 
put  her  hand  up  to  her  face. 

"  The  color  hurts  my  eyes,"  she  said. 

Tlie  color  ?     Ah,  poor  Tiny  Tim ! 

"  They  're  better  now  again.  It  makes  them 
weak  by  candle-light ;  and  I  would  n't  show  weak 
eyes  to  your  father  when  he  comes  home,  for  the 
world.     It  must  be  near  his  time." 

"  Past  it  rather,"  Peter  answered,  shutting  up 
his  book.  "  But  I  think  he  has  walked  a  little 
slower  than  he  used,  these  few  last  evenings, 
mother." 

"  I  have  known  him  walk  with  —  I  have  known 
him  walk  with  Tiny  Tim  upon  his  shoulder,  very 
fast  indeed." 

"  And  so  have  I,"  cried  Peter.     "  Often." 

"  And  so  have  I,"  exclaimed  another.    S£)  had  all. 

"  But  he  was  very  light  to  carry,  and  his  father 
loved  him  so,  that  it  was  no  trouble,  —  no  trouble. 
And  there  is  your  father  at  the  door! " 

She  buried  out  to  meet  him  ;  and  little  Bob  in 
his  comforter  —  he  had  need  of  it,  poor  fellow  — 
came  in.  His  tea  was  ready  for  him  on  the  hob, 
and  they  all  tried  who  should  help  him  to  it  most. 
Then  thft  two  young  Cratcbits  got  upon  his  knees 
and  laid,  ea-ch  ehJ^d,  a  little  cbeeJ^  again5«i  his  face, 
as  if  they  said,  "  D«.f.'t  -^lii^d  it,  fp-tb^/*  Pop't  be 
grieved  1  " 


A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL,  47 

Bob  was  very  cheerful  with  them,  and  spoke 
pleasantly  to  all  the  family.  He  looked  at  the 
work  upon  the  table,  »nd  praised  the  industry  and 
speed  of  Mrs.  Cratchit  and  the  girls.  They  would 
be  done  long  before  Sunday,  he  said. 

"  Sunday  !     You  went  to-day,  then,  Robert  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  returned  Bob.  "  I  wish  yoa 
could  have  gone.  It  would  have  done  you  good  to 
see  how  green  a  place  it  is.  But  you  '11  see  it 
often.  I  promised  him  that  I  would  walk  there  on 
a  Sunday.  My  little,  little  child !  My  little 
child  ! " 

He  broke  down  all  at  once.  He  could  n't  help  it. 
If  he  could  have  helped  It,  he  and  his  child  would 
have  been  farther  apart,  perhaps,  than  they  were. 

"  Spectre,"  said  Scrooge,  "  something  informs 
me  that  our  parting  moment  is  at  hand.  I  know 
it,  but  I  know  not  how.  Tell  me  what  man  that 
was,  with  the  covered  face,  whom  we  saw  lying 
dead  ?  " 

The  Ghost  of  Christmas  Yet  To  Come  conveyed 
him  to  a  dismal,  wretched,  ruinous  churchyard. 

The  Spirit  stood  among  the  graves,  and  pointed 
down  to  One. 

"  Before  I  draw  nearer  to  that  stone  to  which 
you  point,  answer  me  one  question.  Are  these 
the  shadows  of  the  things  that  Will  be,  or  are  they 
shadows  of  the  things  that  May  be  only?  " 

Still  the  Ghost  pointed  downward  to  the  gr^vo 
by  which  it  stood. 


48  A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL. 

"  Men's  courses  will  foreshadow  certain  ends,  to 
which,  if  persevered  in,  they  must  lead.  But  if 
the  courses  be  departed  from^the  ends  will  change. 
Say  it  is  thus  with  what  you  show  me !  " 

The  Spirit  was  immovable  as  ever. 

Scrooge  crept  towards  it,  trembling  as  he  went ; 
.and,  following  the  finger,  read  upon  the  stone  of 
the  neglected  grave  his  own  name,  —  Ebenezer 
Scrooge. 

"Am  /that  man  who  lay  upon  the  bed?  No, 
Spirit !  0  no,  no  I  Spirit !  hear  me !  I  am  not 
the  man  I  was.  I  will  not  be  the  man  I  must 
have  been  but  for  this  intercourse.  Why  show  me 
this,  if  I  am  past  all  hope  ?  Assure  me  *hat  I 
yet  may  change  these  shadows  you  have  shown 
me  by  an  altered  life." 

For  the  first  time  the  kind  hand  faltered. 

"  I  will  honor  Christmas  in  my  heart,  and  try  to 
keep  it  all  the  year,  I  will  live  in  the  Past,  the 
Present,  and  the  Future.  The  Spirits  of  all  three 
shall  strive  within  me,  I  will  not  shut  out  the  les- 
sons that  they  teach.  0,  tell  me  I  may  sponge 
away  the  writing  on  this  stone  ! " 

Holding  up  his  hands  in  one  last  prayer  to  have 
his  fate  reversed,  he  saw  an  alteration  in  the  Phan- 
tom's hood  and  dress.  It  shrunk,  collapsed,  and 
dwindled  down  into  a  bedpost. 

Yes, .  and  the  bedpost  was  his  own.  The  bed 
was  his  own,  the  room  was  his  own.  Best 
and  happiest  of  all,  the  Time  before  him  was  his 
own,  to  make  amends  in ! 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  49 

He  was  checked  in  his  transports  by  the 
churches  ringing  out  the  lustiest  peals  he  had  ever 
heard. 

Running  to  the  window,  he  opened  it,  and  put 
out  his  head.  No  fog,  no  mist,  no  night ;  clear, 
bright,  stirring,  golden  day. 

"  What 's  to-day  ?  "  cried  Scrooge,  calling 
downward  to  a  boy  in  Sunday  clothes,  who  per- 
haps had  loitered  in  to  look  about  him. 

"  Eh  ?  " 

"  What 's  to-day,  my  fine  fellow  ?  " 

"  To-day !     Why,  Christmas  day." 

"  It 's  Christmas  day !  I  have  n't  missed  it. 
Hallo,  my  fine  fellow  !  " 

"  Hallo  !  " 

**  Do  you  know  the  Poulterer's,  in  the  next  street 
but  one,  at  the  corner  ?  " 

"  I  should  hope  I  did." 

"  An  intelligent  boy !  A  remarkable  boy  !  Do 
you  know  whether  they  've  sold  the  prize  Turkey 
that  was  hanging  up  there  ?  Not  the  little  prize 
Turkey,  —  the  big  one  ?  " 

"  What,  the  one  as  big  as  me  ?  " 

"  What  a  delightful  boy  !  It's  a  pleasure  to  talk 
to  him.     Yes,  my  buck  !  " 

"  It 's  hanging  there  now." 

"  Is  it  ?     Go  and  buy  it." 

*'  Walk-ER !  "  exclaimed  the  boy. 

"  No,  no,  I  am  in  earnest.  Go  and  buy  it,  and 
tell  'em  to  bring  it  here,  that  T  may  give  them  the 

3  D 


so  A  CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

direction  where  to  take  it.  Come  back  with  the 
man,  and  I  '11  give  you  a  shilling.  Come  back  with 
him  in  less  than  five  minutes,  and  I  '11  give  you 
half  a  crown  ! " 

The  boy  was  ofi"like  a  shot. 

"  I  '11  send  it  to  Bob  Cratchit's  !  He  sha'n't 
know  who  sends  it.  It's  twice  the  size  of  Tiny 
Tim.  Joe  Miller  never  made  sach  a  joke  as 
sending  it  to  Bob's  will  be!" 

The  hand  in  which  he  wrote  the  address  was  not 
a  steady  one  ;  but  write  it  he  did,  somehow,  and 
went  down  stairs  to  open  the  street  door,  ready 
for  the  coming  of  the  poulterer's  man. 

It  was  a  Turkey  !  He  never  could  have  stood 
upon  his  legs,  that  bird.  He  would  have  snapped 
'em  short  oflf  in  a  minute,  like  sticks  of  sealing- 
wax, 

Scrooge  dressed  himself  "  all  in  his  best,"  and  at 
last  got  out  into  the  streets.  The  people  were  by 
this  time  pouring  forth,  as  he  had  seen  them  with 
the  Ghost  of  Christmas  Present ;  and,  walking  with 
his  hands  behind  him,  Scrooge  regarded  every 
one  with  a  delighted  smile.  He  looked  so  irresist- 
ibly pleasant,  in  a  word,  that  three  or  four  good- 
humored  fellows  said,  "Good  morning,  sir!  A 
merry  Christmas  to  you !  "  And  Scrooge  said 
often  afterwards,  that,  of  all  the  blithe  sounds  he 
had  ever  heard,  those  were  the  blithest  in  his  ears. 

In  the  afternoon,  he  turned  his  steps  towards  his 
nephew's  house. 


A   CHEISTMAS   CAROL,  51 

He  passed  the  door  a  dozen  times,  before  he  had 
the  courage  to  go  up  and  knock.  But  he  made  a 
dash,  and  did  it. 

"  Is  your  master  at  home,  my  dear  ? "  said 
Scrooge  to  the  girl.     Nice  girl !     Very. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Where  is  he,  my  love  ?  " 

"  He  's  in  the  dining-room,  sir,  along  with  mis 
tress." 

"He  knows  me,"  said  Scrooge,  with  his  hand 
already  on  the  dining-room  lock.  "  I  '11  go  in 
here,  my  dear." 

"Fred!" 

"  Why,  bless  my  soul !  "  cried  Fred,  "  who  's 
that  ?  " 

"  It 's  I.  Your  uncle  Scrooge.  I  have  come  to 
dinner.     Will  you  let  me  in,  Fred  ?  " 

Let  him  in  !  It  is  a  mercj'  he  did  n't  shake  his 
arm  off.  He  was  at  home  in  five  minutes.  Noth- 
ing could  be  heartier.  His  niece  looked  just  the 
same.  So  did  Topper  when  he  came.  So  did  the 
plump  sister,  when  she  came.  So  did  every  one 
when  th£y  came.  Wonderful  party,  wonderful 
games,  wonderful  unanimity,  won-der-ful  happi- 
ness! 

But  he  was  early  at  the  oflBce  next  morning. 
0,  he  was  early  there.  If  he  could  only  be  there 
first,  and  catch  Bob  Cratchit  coming  late  !  That 
was  the  thing  he  had  set  his  heart  upon. 

And  he  did  it.     The  clock  struck  nine.     No  Bob 


52  A   CHRISTMAS  CAROL. 

A  quarter  past.  No  Bob.  Bob  was  full  eighteen 
minutes  and  a  half  behind  his  time.  Scrooge  sat 
with  his  door  wide  open,  that  he  might  see  him 
come  into  the  Tank. 

Bob's  hat  was  off,  before  he  opened  the  door ; 
bis  comforter  too.  He  was  on  his  stool  in  a  jiffy  ; 
driving  away  with  his  pen,  as  if  he  were  trying  to 
overtake  nine  o'clock. 

"  Hallo  !  "  growled  Scrooge,  in  his  accustomed 
voice,  as  near  as  he  could  feign  it.  "  What  do  you 
mean  by  coming  here  at  this  time  of  day  ?  " 

"I  am  very  sorry,  sir.     I  am  behind  my  time." 

''You  are?  Yes.  I  think  you  are.  Step  this 
way,  if  you  please." 

"  It 's  only  once  a  year,  sir.  It  shall  not  be  re- 
peated. I  was  making  rather  merry  yesterday, 
sir." 

"  Now,  I  '11  tell  you  what,  my  friend.  I  am 
not  going  to  stand  this  sort  of  thing  any  longer. 
And  therefore,"  Scrooge  continued,  leaping  from 
his  stool,  and  giving  Bob  such  a  dig  in  the  waist- 
coat that  he  staggered  back  into  the  Tank  again,  — 
"  and  therefore  I  am  about  to  raise  your  salary  ! " 

Bob  trembled,  and  got  a  little  nearer  to  the 
ruler. 

"  A  merry  Christmas,  Bob!  "  said  Scrooge,  with 
an  earnestness  that  could  not  be  mistaken,  as  he 
clapped  him  on  the  back.  "  A  merrier  Christmas, 
Bob,  my  good  follow,  than  I  have  given  you  for 
many    a   year !      I  '11    raise   your   salary,    and    en- 


A   CHRISTMAS   CAROL.  53 

deavor  to  assist  your  struggling  family,  aud  we 
will  discuss  your  affairs  this  very  afternoon,  over 
a  Christmas  bowl  of  smoking  bishop.  Bob  !  Make 
up  the  fires,  and  buy  a  second  coal-scuttle  before 
you  dot  another  i.  Bob  Cratchit ! " 

Scrooge  was  better  than  his  word.  He  did  it 
all,  and  infinitely  more  ;  and  to  Tiny  Tim,  who  did 
NOT  die,  he  was  a  second  father.  He  became  as 
good  a  friend,  as  good  a  master,  and  as  good  a 
man  as  the  good  old  city  knew,  or  any  other  good 
old  city,  town,  or  borough  in  the  good  old  world. 
Some  people  laughed  to  see  the  alteration  in  him  ; 
but  his  own  heart  laughed,  and  that  was  quite 
enough  for  him. 

He  had  no  further  intercourse  with  Spirits,  but 
lived  in  that  respect  upon  the  Total-Abstinence 
Principle  ever  afterwards  ;  aud  it  was  always  said 
of  him,  that  he  knew  how  to  keep  Christmas  well, 
if  any  man  alive  possessed  the  knowledge.  May 
that  be  truly  said  of  us,  and  all  of  us  !  And  so,  aa 
Tiny  Tim  observed,  God  Bless  TJs,  Every  One  1 


V      •  - 


UCSB  LIBRARV 


;0^Q(TOigOG<2(>:^(?CU?QCrQCK3b(?O(?Q  j^      000  61 1   Pfift 

SPEUCER'S  UNIVERSAL  STAGE. 


Diamond  cat'I>lainond.  An  In- 
terlude in  One  Act.  I?y  W.  H.  Mur- 
ray.   10  Male,  1  Female  character. 

Iiook  after  Brown.  A  Farce  in 
One  Act.  By  George  A.  Stuart, 
M.  D.    fi  Male,  1  Female  character. 

itiongeieneur.  A  Drama  in  Three 
Acts.  By  Tliomas  Archer.  15  Male, 
.3  Female  characters. 

A  very  pleasant  Evenlne.      A 
Farce  in  One  Act.     I5y  W,  E.  Suter.  i 
3  Male  characters.  | 

Brother   Ben.     A   Farce    in    One 
Act.     By  J.  M.  Morton.    3  Male,  3  j 
Female  characters. 

Only  a  Clod.    A  Comic  Drama  in 
One  Act.   By  J.  P.  Simpson.  4  Male,  I 
1  Female  character.  i 

Oaspardo    tlie     Gondolier.     A  ; 
Drama  in  Three  Acts.    By  George 
Almar.    10  Male,  2  Female  charac- 
ters, i 

Sunshine  through  the  Clouds. 

A  Drama  in  One  Act.  By  Slingsby 
Lawrence.  3  Male,  3  Female  char- 
acters. 
I>on't  Jndee  by  Appearances. 
A  Farce  in  One  Act.  Bv  .J.  M.  Mor- 
•*.,Male,  2  Female  characters. 
^hlckweed.  A  Farce  in 
By  T.  J.  Williams.  4 
lale  characters. 

or,  Which   shall  I 
"1  Farce  in  One  Act.    By 
'SuteV*     ^   ***'^'  ^    ^''e'na'e 
Atr.     \ 

A   Drama   in    Five 
^y*I?? ',  7  Female  characters. 

fci.i^«.» ********  -^  Drama  in 
P\«f*"  By  Robert  Jones,  iti 
I  Acts,     ip  characters. 

V  *  „„j„\y»S>***  ACommedi- 
Vt  O^e  Ac\  *y  ^-  I^-  Andrews. 
ile,'^"Femalf'«'-^'^-- 

A  I'afetol'  I^rama  in  Three 
By  Cha?l>   K-^^^^^-    ^  Male, 
^Female  characti 
Jlanks  and   PrlVf  •    ^  Farce  in 
One  Act.      By    DJi^^^,^""*^-     6 
lale,  J  Female  chaiT'       ' 
^C-oos^eberry^.^^^     4  Male, 
>  »le  characters, 


I    I 


53.  IVho's  Who.    A  Farce  in  One  Act. 

By  T.  J.  Williams.  3  Male,  2  Fe- 
male characters. 

54.  Bouquet.    A  Farce  in  One  Act.    2 

Male,  3  Female  characters. 

55.  The    TVHe's   Secret.      A    Play  in 

Five  Acts.  By  George  W.  Lovell. 
10  Male,  2  Female  characters. 

5C.  The    Babes    In   the  Wood.      A 

Comedy  in  Three  Acts.  By  Tom 
Taylor.  10  Male,  3  Female  charac- 
ters. 

57.  Putkins  :  Heir  to  Castles  In  the 

Air.  A  Comic  Drama  in  One  Act. 
By  W.  K.  Emerson.  2  Male,  2  Fe- 
male characters. 

58.  An  Ugly  Customer.    A  Farce  in 

One  Act.  By  Thomas  J.  Williams. 
3  Male,  2  Female  characters. 

59.  Blue  and  Cherry.    A  Comedy  in 

One  Act.  3  Male,  2  Female  charac- 
ters. 

60.  A  I>oubtful  Victory.    A  Comedy 

in  One  Act.    3  Male,  2  Female  char- 
acters. 
Pi.  The  Scarlet  LiCtter.    A  Drama  'n 
Three  Acts.    8  Male,  7  Female  car- 
acters. 

62.  Which  will  have  Him  P  A  Vau- 

deville. 1  Male,  2  Female  charac- 
ters. 

63.  Madam  is  Abed.    A  Vaudeville  in 

One  Act.  2  Male,  2  Female  charac- 
ters. 

64.  The  Anonymous  Kiss.  A  Vaude- 

ville.   2  Male,  2  Female  characters. 

65.  The  Clelt    Stick.      A  Comedy  in 

Three  Acts.  5  Male,  3  Female  char- 
acters. 

66.  A   Soldier,  a   Sailor,  a  Tinker, 

and  a  Tailor.  A  Farce  in  One 
Act.    4  Male,  2  Female  characters. 

67.  Give    a  Dog    a    Bad    ]Vame.     A 

Farce.  2  Male,  2  Female  Characters. 

68.  Damon  and  Pythias.    A  Farce. 

<i  Male,  4  Female  chiiracters. 

6<J.  A  Husband  to  Order.  A  Serio- 
Comic  Drama  in  Two  Acts.  5  Male, 
3  Female  characters. 

70.  Payable  on  Demand.  A  Domes- 
tic Drama  in  Two  Acts.  7  Male,  1 
Female  character. 


\ 


:nts  each 


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